Cuba still largely without power after nationwide grid collapse

Cuba remained mostly without powerfulness connected Saturday morning, aft the land nation's grid collapsed the nighttime before, knocking retired energy for 10 cardinal radical and raising caller questions astir the viability of its antiquated generating system.

At sunrise, the island's grid relation UNE said it was generating lone a trickle of energy - astir 225 MW, oregon little than 10% of full demand, capable to screen immoderate captious services similar hospitals, h2o proviso and nutrient accumulation centers.

CUBA WORKING TO REESTABLISH ELECTRICAL SERVICE AFTER SECOND GRID COLLAPSE

Officials said they had begun the process of firing up the country's decades-old procreation plants, but gave nary timeline for restoring service.

Cuba´s grid failed Friday evening astir 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT) aft an aging constituent of a transmission enactment astatine a substation successful Havana shorted, opening a concatenation absorption that wholly unopen down powerfulness procreation crossed the island, UNE officials said.

People locomotion connected the thoroughfare during a nationalist electrical grid collapse, successful Havana, Cuba, March 14, 2025.  (REUTERS/Norlys Perez)

The grid illness follows a drawstring of nationwide blackouts precocious past twelvemonth that plunged Cuba's frail powerfulness generating strategy into near-total disarray, stressed by substance shortages, earthy catastrophe and economical crisis.

Most Cubans extracurricular the country's superior of Havana person already been surviving for months with rolling blackouts that peaked astatine 20 hours a time successful caller weeks.

Havana was inactive mostly without energy connected Saturday morning. Light postulation navigated intersections with nary functioning stoplights and cellular net was anemic oregon non-existent successful immoderate areas.

Abel Bonne chatted with friends connected Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard aboriginal Saturday, taking successful the caller oversea breeze aft a stuffy nighttime without power.

"Right now, nary 1 knows erstwhile the powerfulness volition travel backmost on," helium said. "This is the archetypal clip this had happened this year, but past twelvemonth it happened 3 times."

Severe shortages of food, medicine and h2o person made beingness progressively unbearable for galore Cubans, and radical person been fleeing the land successful caller years successful record-breaking numbers.

Cuba blames its economical woes connected a Cold War-era U.S. commercialized embargo, a web of laws and regulations that complicate fiscal transactions and the acquisition of essentials similar substance and spare parts.

A grid authoritative connected Saturday greeting said Cuba had been incapable to update antiquated transmission and procreation components due to the fact that of the restrictions.

U.S. President Donald Trump precocious tightened sanctions connected the island's communist-run government, vowing to reconstruct a "tough" argumentation toward the long-time U.S. foe.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Havana nonmigratory Yunior Reyes, a motorcycle taxi driver, was backmost connected the occupation Saturday greeting contempt the blackout, fretting that his nutrient reserves mightiness spoil successful the day's heat.

"We're each successful the aforesaid situation," helium said. "It's a batch of work."